Kings Mountain hosts its annual Beach Blast celebration

Kings Mountain celebrated its 25th Beach Blast Festival Saturday and drew in several thousand people to the annual summer attraction.

There was a Hula Hoop contest, golf cart parade, music, games, rides, food and craft vendors and more.

Angela Padgett, special events coordinator for the city, said they estimated between two and three thousand people came through over the course of the day, which is down from the around eight thousand it has attracted in the past.

The day started with a little bit of rain but Padgett said toward the middle of the afternoon and towards the end, they drew in a bigger crowd. She said the kids' attractions were particularly popular.

"I do think we had more of al local crowd this year rather than in years past had folks come from other places," she said. "We had a lot of Cleveland County and Gaston crowd. We still felt like it was a success."

One of the annual favorites was the beach ball drop where a parachute full of beach balls is dropped over the crowd.

This year they had the Shadow Players, a swashbuckling stage combat group that did a sword fight, as a new addition for the kids. There was also the Motley Tones pirate singing.

"Those three things, besides the music, was what they really enjoyed," Padgett said.

This year they had three beach bands, down from the usual four, but there will be four again next year.

"We heard nothing but good things, especially on Facebook," she said. "We watch the posts and traffic online and everybody seemed to have a very, very good time."

Beach Blast T-shirts were sold at the festival, and there are still some available for those who would like to purchase one.

People can find more information on the website, kingsmountainevents.com or on City of Kings Mountain Tourism and Events Facebook.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Kings Mountain hosts its annual Beach Blast celebration